Strands of Life
by KrisWitherKay
Summary: Inspired by momoxtoshiro's "In The Night". Of all her years on god's green earth, Weiss had never had as closer call with death than the time Ruby's bed fell on top of her. That particular part was one she would gladly never visit again but the new strands of life that were born from the event are ones she would happily recount for the rest of her life. (One-shot)


Strands of Life

This fic was inspired by momoxtoshiro's wonderful fic "In The Night". I couldn't help but wonder how differently the whole event could have gone if one minor detail was changed.

* * *

Weiss had known in the back of her mind that ever since she was put in that dorm room at Beacon that her days were numbered thanks to Ruby's precariously perched bed. But as she heard the first rope snap, Weiss had never felt such a driving desire to live and it drove her to move faster than ever over the edge of her bed just as the rest of the ropes decided to pack in.

Ruby's bed came crashing down and Weiss heard various little shrieks from around the room. Weiss' might have been included in there but she couldn't hear it over Ruby's dominant wail, she had the right to be loudest, she was sat on her bunk after all. It made a crash of similar volume to that train derailing when they tried to pursue Roman Torchwick with Professor Oobleck. It drowned everything else out and left a ringing in Weiss' ears that she tried to block out with her hands.

The back of Weiss' head suddenly stung tremendously and she tried in vain to soothe it while she let the buzzing fade from her ears. With the sound that came back to her senses, so did her friends voices. All of them were concerned with shreds of desperation hanging in their voices. Blake settled her hands on Weiss' shoulders gently.

"Weiss? Weiss, can you hear me?" She asked. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said with a light cough. "None of it hit me. Is Ruby OK?"

That was a cue for Ruby to drop down next to Weiss. Her brow was furrowed, her eyes searching for any injuries, despite Weiss' words just a second ago. Anyone could tell that Weiss was dazed and it only confirmed when she reached up sloppily and placed a finger to Ruby's lips, shushing her tenderly.

"Help me up." Weiss gave the order out generally, suddenly too tired to talk to just a single person and change her words depending the addressee. It was Yang that then knelt by her side.

"That's the thing, kiddo." Yang treaded carefully. "You can't get up just yet, your hair is stuck under the bed."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in and then all at once it felt like _Weiss_ was sinking. She reached back for just a second and was about to reflectively yank it for its place before she caught herself. Panicking would do her no could, she needed to calm down and after a few deep breaths, she did.

"Come on Yang, let's try and pull it free." Blake prompted her partner in to action. "Gently."

The two girls moved calmly and tried to give Weiss as much space as they could but the consideration was lost, they were working too close to Weiss' skin for her to be comfortable. They spoke quietly to each other as they worked, Blake sighed a lot, her warm breath rolling over Weiss' bare neck and when she tried to turn away from the Faunus she could just see Yang's tongue poking out from between her womanly lips and for her to occasionally whisper "tease it" to herself. Weiss waited patiently despite how clenched her shoulders were but eventually they reluctantly stopped working at Blake's command.

"It's not coming out." She sighed again. "We'll only end up damaging her hair at this rate pulling it through all that splintered wood."

"Could we take the wood off the top?" Ruby asked. "Could we lift something like that?"

"Awww yeah, mama bear's on the case!"

Yang outcry was a little too close to Weiss' ear to find the enthusiasm endearing and it wasn't getting any better with Ruby egging her on through chanting.

Weiss tried to sway Yang from her one track mind saying that she would get hurt on the wood but she assured the trapped girl that the wood would cause her no harm. Weiss felt no better about the conclusion as Yang secured her hands under the wreckage and lifted.

For a split second, Weiss wondered if this would actually work, the pain lessened ever so slightly but as soon as that split second was up, Yang leapt away with a shout, gravity bringing the bed right back down on her hair yanking Weiss' entire head back, sending a new bolt of pain across her scalp causing her to bring her knees up to her chest and let out a cry, quickly followed by a whimper.

When stars stopped flashing in Weiss' eyes, she saw the damage that had been done. Yang stood away from the group and held her hand close to her chest. Weiss wasn't sure whether Yang wanted to hide herself from the group or just hide her hand but it was easy to see what had happened when the blood trailed its way down her forearm and dripped from her elbow on to the floor.

"In my defence," Yang said shakily. "The wood didn't get me… but the nail did."

Ruby was quick to act, she ushered Yang in to the bathroom despite her protests and the two remaining heard the water turn on. They should be left alone to clean to the wound, they didn't need any pressure either.

Weiss doesn't blame Yang or anyone else, she didn't even blame herself. But thanks to all these events that shouldn't be happening she was definitely looking for someone to blame regardless, she could feel the anger bubbling under her skin for a reason she didn't understand and it was most likely this dark mood that influenced her next actions.

"Blake, I have an idea." Weiss said with a wobble in her words. "Pass me Gambol Shroud."

"What are you going to do?" Blake asked almost instantly. She was obviously suspicious, Blake knew that Weiss couldn't be doing well being stuck like that but she was doing her best to put on a brave face.

"I'm going to use the ribbon." She lied. "If we can tie it around one of these planks, we might be able to get a bit of leverage over it. That way no one else has to get hurt for my sake."

Blake's sharp senses would've found it hard to miss the unpleasant curve of Weiss' mouth that told her how close she was to tears or how white her knuckles were as they clamped to her knees stopping herself from reaching back and yanking at her hair with all she was worth. But they both knew that would cause Weiss to panic. She tried to reassure Blake with a broken smile. It didn't work.

But the excuse was viable, a legitimate theory and Blake had no way of knowing which way Weiss would go as she handed the trapped girl her weapon and stood back a couple of paces. Blake watched Weiss secure her grip on the weapon and seem to prepare herself but as soon as her grip changed on the hilt did she realise what Weiss' true intentions were. Blake was fast, but none of them were faster than Weiss with a blade.

Faster than lightning, Weiss placed the blade behind her neck and dragged it upwards, severing every strand that trapped her under the bed, freeing her instantly. Blake snatched the blade from her hand but the deed was already done. Weiss stood up, stretched and sighed as Blake looked on in horror.

The sisters couldn't have chosen a worse time to come out of the bathroom, Ruby guiding her older sister with an arm around her waist. Both pairs of eyes instantly went to Weiss to see if any progress had been made but they were rendered speechless as they took in the sight of Weiss' severed ponytail under the bed and the mess that was left stuck to Weiss' head.

Weiss tried to blow over the situation with light humour as her ornate, hair tie clattered to the ground. Blake remembered an analogy, something about a pin dropping but she was too stunned to remember the whole thing. When Weiss turned to look at the rest of her ponytail still secured under the crippled bunk, it showed how much damage was truly caused to the rest of the team. An incredible amount of hair had been shaved from the back of Weiss' head. Nothing of the ponytail remained, it was uneven and no one could deny how ugly it looked. Weiss was unable to see it though, she didn't want to. She was sure she would snap if she did.

The others tried to console her in various ways. Yang tried to suggest of ways that would've gone better in hindsight but it didn't matter, the damage was done. Weiss told her that she should get herself down to the infirmary, see if it needed stitches or anything. Weiss would feel even worse if she was the liability that caused the rest of her team pain. Ruby tried to amend things as well, saying that it was her fault for suspending her bed like that.

Weiss almost found herself at a crossroads with that one, it was Ruby's fault in that way, the bed wouldn't have fallen if it hadn't been suspended but no one could've predicted when it would have fallen and that it would've been such a (Weiss cursed herself for this inappropriate pun) _close shave_ but she instead told Ruby that it was OK, she should go with Yang and explain the situation since Yang was the only one that got physically hurt.

Blake didn't even try to console her, she could see that Weiss was hurting and any words she said right would only appear empty. Weiss was stubborn at the best of times and Blake knew that each one of them might have accidentally offended her with an offhand comment at some point during their time together and she remembered how Weiss shut them all out. She didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to vent. She was quiet about it and that was even more terrifying.

Weiss turned away from the group then and rubbed at the back of her neck. Her shoulders were tight and she kept her arms to herself. None of them knew what to say. Maybe there wasn't anything to say, Weiss was shaken that was plain to see. Maybe it would've been better if Weiss left, just for a little bit. So that was what she set out to do, she picked up her coat and shrugged it on, habitually moving to pull her ponytail out from inside the collar and it disoriented Weiss a bit when there was no resistance from the non-existent ponytail.

"Where are you going?" Blake said and for some reason, that roused more anger than ever from Weiss.

The question was ridiculously stupid, sure as hell she wasn't going to stay in the room with two shattered beds, a severed ponytail, a team that couldn't find the words to speak to her and this unwarranted anger shooting through her heavy shoulders.

"Out." Weiss bit defensively. "I'll go to the hairdressers or something."

Weiss exited the room in her usual, straight-backed, confident-strided way and slammed the door behind her, making even herself jump. Her team didn't follow her. She found herself running through the halls, not caring about how bad her hair looked or how sweaty she got in her coat or even the amount of looks she got in the halls, which was a lot. She just needed out; away from the world for a few minutes. Her chest felt painfully tight and all kind of thoughts were moving through her mind at a blistering pace but as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the building and out in to the fresh air it all stopped.

 _This is much better_ , Weiss thought yet the people around her, milling about to and fro still made her feel like they were watching her with a scrutinising eye, waiting for something she'll give them but she didn't know what they wanted either.

In a bit of a daze Weiss boarded the airship to Vale and purposely positioned herself on the end of one of the benches in the vehicle. There were no seats or hand railings to her right which should minimise the amount of people that looked at her. She sighed and unconsciously tucked a strand of hair away behind her ear, it was a stroke of misfortune that her hand was big enough to feel the difference in the length of the hair above her ear. She soon found she couldn't resist anymore and touched the area where her ponytail was.

Weiss knew that her ponytail held strands of hair from every part of her head, save for her fringe. Thankfully, that blasted thing was still in place. She tenderly touched at the short hair near her crown and fiddled with it. It really was short, maybe about an inch at the epicentre. She probably literally couldn't have cut it closer with Gambol Shroud without embedding the blade in her skull. That thought began to shine a little brighter within her, at least that kind of ending would end her godforsaken misery.

As the airship touched down and Weiss made her way in to Vale's city centre, she wondered if this really was for the best. It was a Saturday and the amount of passers-by on the high street was about triple the amount she saw on Beacon's hallways, which obviously meant that she got triple the amount of strange looks. It was almost suffocating and that horrible panicky feeling tried to rise back up again in her chest.

She told it to fuck off and pushed it back down. Weiss was stronger than that.

Pulling out her Scroll and opening up the mapping application, Weiss ran her fingers through her hair as she waited for it to load. Her nails managed to pull out more strands than usual and she tried not to think about it too much as she let them float to the floor. The app had now loaded and Weiss searched for the closest hairdressers to her current location. Lucky for her, it was just around the next corner.

Pocketing the device, Weiss made her way to her destination. A quiet, little place only a single street away from the high street, it was amazing how much could change in a single street. She wondered if any of these passers-by knew about this place despite it being maybe only 100 meters from where they walked by.

The doorbell chimed as Weiss walked in and a woman in the back poked her head out from behind a beaded curtain.

"Oh, hey there honey!" She greeted warmly, which was kind of refreshing to hear on such a stressful day. "Take a seat by the window, I'll be right with you."

Weiss gave her the signature "business" smile, it even felt shaky on her own face so it was no wonder that the employee's eyebrows twitched for just a second as she picked up on it. The woman disappeared and Weiss heard some water start running, she took that as a cue to sit down. She was reluctant to sit with her back to the window, showing the world the mistake on the back of her head but there was a blind in the window that fortunately just came down to her shoulders.

After maybe about a minute, the woman came back through the beads fully this time. She was a big lady, maybe in her late thirties with dark skin, a big, black afro and an even bigger white smile.

"Sorry about the wait there sweetie." She said as she placed a towel she was carrying on the front desk. "I'm Poppy, I'll be serving you today. So how do you want it?"

"Well…" Weiss started but she didn't really know what to say, none of this was what she _wanted_. "You see, I got in a little accident a bit ago and we- _I_ had to cut a bit of it off."

"How much?" Poppy asked with concern in her voice, she really did wear her heart on her sleeve. "If you don't mind telling."

Weiss showed her the back of her head.

"About two feet."

Poppy gasped and immediately ran over to her, gathering Weiss up and pressing the teen in to her soft chest.

"Oh honey, I am _so_ sorry." She said as she ran her hand through Weiss' hair. Even though Weiss normally wouldn't be bothered by such a display of affection, at this moment she had to stop herself from pushing Poppy away. Weiss didn't want her hair to taint this good woman. "How did this happen?"

Usually Huntresses kept their profession under wraps when out acting as a normal civilian. It stopped them asking questions or maybe acting out of fear. So Weiss did the same here.

"A man tried harassing me." Weiss lied. "And when he didn't get his way, he put his gum in my ponytail before kicking me to the curb."

Weiss made it sound convincing and Poppy was obviously buying it. A flash of the Weiss' puppy-dog eyes she learnt from her partner made the woman melt. In reality, in that situation that man would've been lucky to escape with his life, never mind lay a hand on her.

"He left me alone after that." Weiss told her. "So I went home and tried to get it out, but it wouldn't budge. He'd managed to get my hair right near the bobble so it held it all together _quite_ nicely."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Poppy cooed and she placed a kiss on Weiss' head. She wondered if that was going a bit too far for normal interaction but it didn't really matter. Weiss was a sucker for being pampered. "But it's OK, honey. I'll get you back on your feet."

"Thank you." Weiss told her, refreshingly truthfully. "That means a lot."

"Would you mind sitting in front of one of the mirrors?" Poppy asked. "Then we'll see what we can do."

Weiss did as she was told, removing her coat and leaving it by the window. She was glad that Poppy was so accommodating, she wondered if she would've been so open to getting her hair cut by someone who just generally wasn't interested. It had been a long time since she'd needed to have her hair cut apart from her fringe, Weiss herself could usually do that herself in front of the mirror. Her ponytail was the result of leaving her hair alone for years. It didn't need styling or colouring, she was perfectly happy with the way it was. But now all that was gone. Weiss was having the epitome of a "bad hair day".

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Poppy asked and for some reason Weiss didn't think twice about answering. In truth, you didn't get much more personal information than a person's name.

"It's Weiss." She told Poppy. "Weiss Schnee."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Weiss found that she was flushing despite herself. She'd heard many a man pull that kind of line on her. In her line of business you kind of had to expect that people would try flattery to get on her good side. Perhaps to bend her to their own will or maybe for financial security. She could never tell the reason but she knew when the words were empty. Yet these words that Poppy spoke were so vibrant and full of life that it caught her off guard.

"Now Weiss." Poppy spoke slowly this time as she threaded her fingers in Weiss' hair getting a feel for it. The slow speech was not to treat Weiss as a child but so she understood what was happening. Weiss couldn't imagine something like her case cropping up too often. "Because of where your hair has been cut, there aren't too many things we can do, unfortunately."

"I'm not trying for a miraculous recovery." Weiss told her. "My hair wasn't done up extravagantly in the first place, just tied to the side."

"I would've liked to have done something nice with it." Poppy admitted. "It's obvious you cared for it a lot."

"But what about now?" Weiss asked. "There isn't much you can do, right?"

"The cut is right on top of your crown so the cut hair goes in all directions." Poppy sighed. The touch on Weiss' head changed, it was definitely more of a gentle stroke now, it felt weird over the new, short hair but Weiss was beginning to like it. "The only other person that has had this problem was on the back of their head, so we could sort just that particular section out and then coordinate the others around it. But something that's right on the crown, there aren't many styles for women that deal with a short crown, unless you had a particular inclining to look like Friar Tuck's twin sister."

They both shared a bit of a bitter laugh at that one. It wasn't really the time but the image tickled Weiss.

"You say there wasn't too many women's hairstyles to go for right?" Weiss saw Poppy nod in the mirror. "Then what about men's?"

"Now there's an idea!" Poppy said with renewed vigour. "A lot of men's hairstyles are based around the hair being long on top and short around the sides. It was brought back from round about the wartime, though it left all the connotations behind."

"Would that work though?" Weiss was sceptical about these different lengths. "You said how the cut was right on the crown. Would that kind of style not look strange if there was a bit of a short patch right at the back of my head in amongst the long hair?"

"I see, that may be true." Poppy wondered a bit more, tapping a comb against her lips. Weiss wanted to bring up the hygiene issues with doing that but it wasn't like it was going to kill the woman. "What if it was an even length all the way around?"

"That would be better." Weiss agreed. "Certainly easier to manage."

"Would you like to see a book?" Poppy offered. "There might be a design you'd like."

"Thanks but… no thanks." Weiss said a little dejectedly, she felt bad about disappointing Poppy. "Like I say, I'm not one for extravagant hairstyles. I'd prefer if you just did what you thought was right for me."

Weiss realised that this was literally just passing the book. But she was tired and she didn't really want to think or make decisions anymore. She should get something hot to drink after this. The bitter cold outside hadn't really bothered her while her hair was still relatively long but she was sure that would change quickly.

"Alright." Poppy accepted with a tender smile. "I'll do my best. You just relax now, honey. You've had it rough."

Weiss did just that. She kept her head straight and closed her eyes as Poppy fastened a sheet around Weiss' neck and covered her body with it. It was a completely different procedure than what she was used to. There was a lot more of the electric razor than she'd ever heard before. It was kind of a rough sensation across her scalp and she could feel incredible amounts of hair falling over her face and ears.

Poppy moved Weiss' head with her hands every so often, pushing it down or turning it so she could get a better angle but Weiss was surprised by how quickly the razor seemed to shut off. Just as she was getting used to it, it was gone and replaced with a different one. Weiss could hear the difference in the razors, this new one was smaller and it came much closer to her ears. Poppy worked steadily on the hair just around her ears and at the base of her neck but even that seemed to be done quickly.

The smaller razor then stopped too and Weiss soon felt the satisfaction of cold metal on her forehead. Poppy covered Weiss' eyes with her hand as if she were protecting her from all the horrors of the world when really she knew that it was just from the falling hair of her fringe as Poppy evened it up. Weiss suddenly wanted to be held like this for a very long time. The warmth of another person's hand across her face was something she'd never experienced before but she loved it already. It seemed to be a very trusting exercise, having someone's hands in such an invasive place but with Weiss' complete permission.

Even Poppy's hand disappeared too quickly and was replaced by a soft, long bristled brush that swiped over Weiss' face, behind her ears and at the back of her neck, clearing her body of loose hair.

"Open your eyes, sweetie."

In the mirror, Weiss saw herself. It was the same face, the same eyes even the same scar but for some reason there was a smile on her lips as she looked over her new hair. It was very short, maybe about an inch in length all over including the back, Weiss realised when Poppy held up a second mirror that showed Weiss the back of her head.

Weiss was sure that she was _born_ with longer hair than this, she couldn't recall a time when it had ever been like this and the prospect of something new excited Weiss. All of a sudden, she couldn't wait to show her team. She wouldn't have to risk going in to a blind rage against an enemy if her hair was damaged like Yang. Gone were the worries of an enemy grabbing a fistful of it and throwing her around like a ragdoll. Her hair was now short, practical and handsome.

"I love it." Weiss told Poppy who looked even more startled than Weiss did.

"You do?" She asked incredulously.

"I really do. Thank you so much for doing this."

"No, not at all." Poppy blushed this time. "It is my job after all."

"Speaking of which." Weiss said as Poppy took the sheet from around Weiss' neck. "How much do I owe you?"

"Owe me?" Poppy looked at Weiss like she was speaking another language. "Not one Lien, Weiss sweetie. I've got you back on your feet and that's good enough for me."

"You would do that for me? I mean I can definitely _pay_."

"Not. One. Lien." Poppy repeated. "I can't possibly take money from you when coming here wasn't even planned in the first place."

"Thanks, once again, Poppy." Weiss realised that was the first time she called the woman by her name, it felt good on her tongue. "I really mean it."

Poppy touched Weiss' face and once again kissed her head, disregarding any little hairs that might've stuck to her face.

"It's no problem, Weiss." Poppy said as she guided Weiss back to her coat in the window. "Just be sure to come back when I can do something with your hair, OK?"

Weiss laughed at that and there was nothing bitter about it this time.

"I will." Weiss promised as she shrugged on her coat again and opened the door, the cold air hitting her harder than usual. "I'll see you again, I promise."

"It's a deal." Poppy saw her off with the same beaming smile as when she came in. "Thanks for stopping by."

Weiss left Poppy in the salon and couldn't help set off back home with a spring in her step. She ran her fingers through her new, bristly hair loving the fresh experience. It was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, if only for a little while. She could leave her burdens behind her and look forwards to the days ahead. It was like she had a new lease of life.

Like Weiss had wanted while sat in the salon, she called in quickly to a café and got a hot chocolate to go. As she drank it on the way back to the next airship, she felt like she could call this day a good one despite Ruby's bed destroying her own, almost killing Weiss and taking her ponytail from her. Poppy had made sure she felt warm and welcomed and as she boarded the airship, she still felt those sensations. She finished the hot chocolate and binned the cardboard cup. Weiss would definitely be going back to that place in the future.

Now that she was alone with her thoughts once again, she realised that she never even found out the name of the salon but she was rudely pulled from her daydreaming as the airship hit a little turbulence that made Weiss jump.

The sun was setting as the airship touched back down within Beacon's grounds and Weiss moved quickly through the crowds. People gave Weiss even more looks as she walked in but this time she welcomed them. What they were seeing was quite possibly a girl in love with life. Weiss knew how terribly rare that feeling was in her life.

Weiss approached her room's door slowly. She thought of what the others would say. Would they like her new hair? Probably not, but they'd have to live with it now. Would they even be there? It was possible that they were all elsewhere but as she opened the door it was evident that they weren't.

Everything stopped as Weiss walked in and everyone saw her and her new hair. Weiss realised she had stopped in the door so she tried her best to enter the room naturally and hang up her coat as if it were any other day.

"Weiss." It was Ruby's voice.

Weiss turned to her, ready to apologise, tell her it was OK. Things could go back to normal so easily, but she didn't manage to get any of that out as the sobbing mess that was left of Ruby tackled her to the ground. Her team leader held her tight and cried freely in to her shoulder. Her hoarse voice told Weiss that she had most likely been crying while Weiss had been away, but it was OK. At least her partner wasn't angry with her.

"It's alright, Ruby." Weiss told her as she returned the embrace trying not to concentrate on how uncomfortable the floor was. "I'm not mad, I swear."

Ruby looked up at her with those same puppy-dog eyes Weiss had used earlier in the day but they were in full effect now with tear just brimming them. Weiss wiped them away with her thumb.

"But the bed wouldn't ha-"

"It wouldn't have fallen if you didn't tie it up?" Weiss finished for her. "But then how would we have bunk beds? Listen partner, it's not your fault. No one could've predicted that thing falling down, let's just be glad it didn't take any more of me with it."

Ruby nodded and tried to wipe away some fresh tears but now the waterworks had started it didn't look like they wanted to stop. Weiss pulled Ruby to her feet and gave the younger girl one last hug.

Blake stepped up then and tried to say something but Weiss stopped her with a finger on her lips.

"You don't have anything to apologise for, Blake." Weiss sighed and scuffed her feet a little. "I was the one being short with you. I shouldn't have snapped at you or misused your weapon like that."

"That doesn't matter." Blake said simply. "As long as you're OK."

"Should you really be asking _me_ that?" Weiss asked with a smirk. "When it's the Golden Oaf that tried to crucify herself?"

"Oh ha ha, very funny." Yang piped up from where she was sat on Blake's bed. Her hand was heavily bandaged and it didn't look like she'd be moving her fingers any time soon. "Let's all pick on the cripple shall we?"

Weiss couldn't help but giggle at her misfortune. Yang looked uncomfortable and not only with the bandage. Yang was the kind of person that would have been thinking all day about what she would finally say to Weiss when she turned up but something must have changed in her plan with Weiss' actual appearance. Yang looked no closer to an answer than before.

"Does it hurt, Yang?" Weiss said as she knelt in front of the eldest girl.

"Nah not really." She denied bravely. "Stings a bit if I try and move my fingers though."

Yang allowed Weiss to take her bad hand gently between her own and caress it. She couldn't feel it through the bandages but the thought still counted in Yang's books. After a few moments, their eyes met.

"I'm sorry this happened to you, it shouldn't have." Weiss said honestly. "You were only trying to help."

"Same goes to you, Princess." Yang reciprocated. "But I like the new you. It looks cute on you."

Yang gave her that same bright smile she'd come to love and Weiss showed a rare moment of camaraderie and reflected Yang's own smile.

"You're such a goof."

Suddenly there was a massive weight on Weiss' back as Ruby ploughed in to her again.

"Oh thank god, we're all cool!" She cheered. "We were all terrified of this breaking us all up so I'm glad we're all good."

"It'll take more than that to get rid of me, you hooligan." Weiss said as she threw her leader on to the floor but she quickly spied something interesting on the other side of the room. "Have you lot been building new _beds_?"

"Well, we figured it was the least we could do." Blake said. "You weren't having the best day after Ruby's bed kamikazed yours. The cleaning crew took away all the broken stuff a while ago while Ruby and Yang were in the infirmary."

"That's sweet of you." Weiss gave Blake a smile then and it just made her smile harder when she saw a blush creep up Blake's neck. "Thank you."

Blake mumbled something that Weiss didn't catch but she was interrupted anyway when Weiss felt fingers running through her hair, it was Yang this time.

"This is going to take some getting used to." She said. "Oh man, what's Pyrrha going to say when she sees you? She's going to _flip_. She flaps about like a mother hen at the best of times. This is gonna shave a few years off for sure."

" _Shave_ them off?" Weiss repeated. "Really? Too soon, too soon."

"Oh man, I didn't even notice that one."

Team RWBY shared a well-earned laugh together and eventually they all settled down and finished building Weiss and Ruby's new beds and got them all made up with sheets, duvets and pillows. Somehow, it became a unanimous decision that they should bring Yang's bed down too and make a huge bed in the middle of the room that they could all have a bit of a sleep over in.

When lights-out came around, no one argued and they all settled in to the new super-super-super-king sized bed with the casualties of the team, Weiss and Yang in the middle with Team Ladybug squishing them all together in fits of giggles in the dark.

Yang continued to run her hands through Weiss' hair as Ruby stroked her back and Blake held her hand across Yang's waist. It was more attention than Weiss had ever received in her life but she had no intentions of pushing it away.

"Say, Weiss?" Ruby asked in to the bare nape of her neck.

"Hmm?"

"Where did you go to get your hair done?"

Weiss had to fish around under the sheets for her Scroll to answer that one. Luckily the device had recorded where she'd been today.

"It was a nice, little place." Weiss told her. "Called _Strands of Life_."


End file.
